Skyraiders Attack Izod Convoy
It is late at night and not a sound is heard, except for the occasional pitter patter of the stray pedestrian. The lamp posts shine line down on the sidewalks, partly illuminating the streets. Had this been the bad part of Wolport, there would be drug dealers, hookers, and all sorts of unsavory people out, but it wasn't. A slight humming noise is heard in the distance as a large landspeeder comes down the street. A tarp is over its cargo and people sit on the edges of the landspeeder, holding on tightly. Standing to the right side of the road, Raaz looks out from below his hood. Turning his head from Lance back to the road ahead of them he rests his right hand on the hilt of his blaster pistol situated in the holster on his hip. Breathing in slowly and letting it out Raaz attempts to steady his heartrate. Even when he had been in the service an upcoming operation had been nerve racking. Now he hopes that he had not gotten himself into a bad situation and that Lance was a worthwhile commander. As the hum of the approaching landspeeder grows louder, Raaz's grip on the weapon grows tighter as his other hand twitches with the glowrod in his grasp. Peering into the dark night sky, 2nd Lieutenant Lance Fulderon makes his way down the side of Ord Mantell Beaulevard with Raaz at his side. Although the street would usually see quite a number of people during the day, the night kept them relatively quiet.. Caestus had scouted the area well and everything about the location worked in the small group's favor. Looking down about 100 yards down the road, the young man clad in black peers at a two story building, not seeing his Corporal, but knowing that the Meris was already well in position. Lance didn't exactly approve of Hudson's heavy, heavy drinking, but tonight would be the true test for the new recruit. Could he do the job that he was expected to? Hearing the familiar **hum** of the landspeeder, Lance couldn't help but bear a small grin. Caestus was right about the expected path of the equipment transport. Now it was time for Raaz and himself to do their best job at persuading this bunch. Reaching for his wrist, Lance looks to Raaz, nodding as he clicks a small button on. Suddenly a bright flashlight lights, mounted on the officer's wrist. Knowing Raaz was told to do the same, Lance steps into the center of the road, an E-11 Blaster rifle gripped in his right hand, "By order of the Empire, Halt!" The words come out smooth, deep, and without hesitation. He was up on a rooftop, his carbine rested cautiously over the edge, where Lance had wanted him. Hudson still wasn't sure about this operation. This Izod guy had nothing to do with the Empire. The theft didn't bother him, but he'd already decided he wasn't going to kill anybody. Yeah. Nobody was dying, at least not from his gun. He clicks the weapon to safe. Seated on the edge of the landspeeder, one of the security guards hangs on with one hand while the other carefully checks out the blaster pistol. First, he checks to make sure the power pack is full, or at least full enough to get off the right amounts of shots before whoever he's shooting at decides to kill him. Then, he makes sure the gas container is full, such that the pistol actually manages to fire in case it's needed. Alrond hopes nothing violent happens, though if it does, he knows that he'd at least enjoy the show. With his head on a swivel, the security guard keeps an eye on the area. He shifts his weight on the edge of the landspeeder, the tarp rustles behind him as he brushes against it. Another job, another paycheck. He twists his left pinky in his ear flicking the wax off with his thumb. His other hand rests casually on his holstered blaster. With a sigh he continues his watch, the landspeeder moving to its destination. The large landspeeder comes to a quick and complete halt, right before running anyone over, luckily enough. The driver covers his eyes for a moment, then tries to see who or what is halting them, though the statement is a big clue. Looking back to the security guards, three hop off and the driver shrugs. What was going on, the driver thought to himself. "Find out what they want," the driver says the the head security guard. Hudson watched from his perch. It was a shame carbines didn't have stun settings, but what was one to do? He was still nervous about this. What if the Empire showed up? Well, at leat then he could legitimately kill someone. That would be nice, killing Imperials. Why weren't they killing Imperials? The head guard, after having inspected his weapon, returns it to his holster. If these guys truly were Imperials, then Alrond wouldn't want to anger them by brandishing a weapon in their general direction. Whispering, he tells the other guards to stay on the speeder before he himself hops down to the ground below. He then moves forward, trying to get a good glimpse of those who have halted the speeder, but that's certainly difficult. "I'd like to see some identification, please," he then asks, trying to be as cordially as possible, though he's skeptical about the entire thing. Holding up the glowrod, Raaz swings the beam to shine more into the face of the guard that has appeared off the landspeeder. As the man approaches Raaz's fingers unhook the latch of his holster and slightly draw the pistol out of its home but remains quiet and steady waiting for Lance to reply. Keeping his wrist mounted flashlight pointed at the group of security guards, Lance raises his rifle at the group, "Stop right there." The young man speaks coldly but authoritatively. "The Empire doesn't need to offer identification. This landspeeder was tagged by customs agents in the spaceport as having undocumented equipment." Lance moves forward, but just slightly, enough to keep his demeanor working. "You will then turnover this landspeeder to us. Your vendor, Ivok Izod may contact Imperial Subpost 4A to pay for the appropriate fines in conjunction with this violation." The advantage of his light pointed in their direction is that he can clearly see how many security guards there are within the landspeeder as well as the driver, "If you wish to file a complaint, you have the right, but a paid fine will be the quickest way to get your possessions back. Now everyone off the landspeeder." The official-looking Lance raises his weapon in a threatening position if the guards are able to notice it through the blinding light, "The Empire is well aware of Ivok Izod's illegal dealings. I suggest you not make this difficult." Lance hopes his acting jobs did the trick as well as the knowledge of how quick the Empire can react to a situation in the area. Following the orders of his superior, Drun remains on the landspeeder. This was supposed to be a routine job, his face reflects his uneasiness. He moves his hand from the blaster at his hip, mimicking Alrond's lead. His Adam's Apple bobs as he swallows hard. Rapid blinks replace the slow ones from before as he nervously attempts to keep his eyes from drying out. His gaze jumps from the head guard to the Lance. He doesn't speak as he waits for further instruction. The remaining three guards sit on the landspeeder, keeping their hands on their weapons just in case these 'Imperials' aren't on the up and up. They won't move until ordered by their head of security to do so, so they sit regardless of the orders to vacate the landspeeder. The driver doesn't know what to do, but he is just brave enough to wait till the security head gives the all clear to get out before trusting the Imperials. As Lance draws his weapon, Raaz takes a step to his left withdrawing his pistol from the holster and brings it up to point in the direction of the guards still inside the landspeeder. His glowrod still pointed at the guard on the ground he looks the being up and down looking for any hint of impending action against the two men. "Now I'm sure that you men have your own lives that you wish to keep. Is it really worth defying the Empire over the measley check that you'll be paid off with?" Lance looks over to Raaz then back to the apparent 'Head of Security', "Take your men off the landspeeder. Your hands on your heads please and face the wall." The young man emits coldly as he looks to Raaz, "Cover them. If anyone of them moves, deal with it appropriately. I don't have time for discussions." Drun remains on the edge of the speeder, still waiting for the order to dismount, attack, run for your life. The tension in his muscles is easily visible by this point. He squirms as if he has an itch that cannot be scratched. "Uhhh, Sir..." His eyes shift warily as his brow furrows in a look of concern. Looking over his shoulder, the security head waves a hand in a somewhat downward motion, signalling for his guards to stay with the speeder once more, though they have already been following his orders so far. He can easily see that the 'Imperials' have their weapons drawn, despite the bright lights in his face. This causes him to slowly backpedal, though he doesn't yet dive for cover. His right hand comes down to his hip, not grabbing the handle of the pistol, but leaving it there in case it becomes needed. "See," he begins, speaking spokesman to spokesman, "I've been stopped by Imperials before. They know it's my job to protect these convoys from any wouldbe...thieves. Provide identification, and my men will gladly cooperate with you." Hudson suppressed a groan. Lance's acting was worse than his own, and the Meris was a horrible actor. Mayvbe his mother was right, and he should've stayed where he was and played the quetarra. She probably wouldn't approve of his drinking and smoking, but mothers never did. This was not going well. Sighing, he flipped the selector switch on his carbine from safe to stun. That was an option, apparently. Again the three security guards stay on the landspeeder, though now they unholster their weapons with the signal from their head of security. The driver looks at the backpeddling security head and slowly slumps down in his seat just in case any blaster fight happens. He would rather not die, so he would cower in fear. Raaz shakes his head and had been hoping it would not come to this. Taking a step forward he lets his pistol fall on one of the security guards in the landspeeder. Raising his voice his glowrod goes to the eyes of that guard. Raising his voice he puts as much authority into his voice, "If you continue to draw your weapons I will shoot you. Threatening an imperial officer is grounds for punishment, and I will not allow you to threaten the lives of my squadmates. Put the weapons down on the floor of the landspeeder and you will not be harmed!" Many people have complaints, some legitimate, about the Empire, but there is one fact that most don't like to discuss: they're not entirely unreasonable. They know that people, especially thieves, love to pose as authority figures to dupe gullible citizens, so the Empire is not unwilling to show proper identification before cutting down its citizens in a hail of blaster fire. So, Alrond has decided that these people are not who they say they are, and thus it's his job to shoot them before they can steal anything. Pulling out his blaster pistol, he aims for the original speaker, calmly snapping off a shot before yelling to his men, "Open fire!" Speaking with the same cold and even-toned voice, Lance furrows his dark eyebrows at the head of security. On the inside, Lance was nervous to say the least, however his demeanor continued to be rather convincing...well..he hoped anyway. Lance glances to Raaz shout out some orders before he's surprised by the blaster fire that's upon him in the blink of an eye, "You scum!!" shouts Lance as he dives backward, barely avoiding the seething blaster bolt. He fires off a quick unaimed shot that wildly blasts through the landspeeder tarp. The ruse was up and it was time to take the landspeeder by force. Lance just hoped his men would be capable of getting the job done. Drun immediately snaps into action as directed by his superior. His hand flashes to the blaster on his hip and he draws it, pointing it in the general direction of the second assailant on the ground...Raaz. Squeezing the trigger, the blaster pistol flashes as a bolt fires off. Hudson swivels the rifle towards the driver's compartment, watching the man slump down to hide. It mattered little, of course, because Hudson was on the roof looking down and could see everything. His black eye peered through the small 'V' at the rear of the carbine, lining it up with the post at the front. The tritium glowed softly in front of his eyes, marking an elipses of light green in the night. He lined up the center dot just below the driver's head and, breathing in and then holding it, squeezed the trigger. After taking up a position behind the speeder, and when things start going south, Miko calmly raises his weapon, and with two hands aims it at the security guard confronting Lance. He steadies the weapon for a moment before snapping off a shot. The driver's sad attempt to hide is interrupted when he is stunned unconscious by the Blue man up on the rooftops. The guards all hop off and immediately begin to assault the perceived leader of the 'Imperials,' hoping to scare the others off if they kill him. The Skyraider was caught off guard the first time but that was then...and this was now. Lance balances himself enough to keep his lighted wrist aimed at his attacker while he steadies his E-11 in one hand and unleashes a crisp set of blazing reds in the direction of the Head Security Guard. At this point, Lance keeps the inkling of hope that the security guards think they're firing on Imperials, "You will pay for firing on the Empire!! You people of Ord Mantell are good for NOTHING!!" The 2nd Lieutenant is about to continue his sentence when a swarm of blaster fire lights the dark street up, with most of the blaster fire coming in his direction. Lance doesn't have time to see if his own shots on the Heady Security Guard hit as he rolls evasively away from the incoming fire. It's probably a mixture of luck on his part and bad aim of the guards, but the young man escapes his roll untouched. Drun quickly slides across the landspeeder flopping over the edge. From his point of cover, he rests his blaster on the cool metal plating of the speeder and takes aim. With his sights on Lance, he squeezes the trigger. A flash of red lights his face as the bolt leaves the barrel of his blaster. Taking a few steps sideways to line up a better shot at the head security guard. Blaster bolts and smoke begin filling the empty street as Miko lines up his next shot. He gets a bead on the guard and snaps off another shot. With his weapon raised towards the guards in the landspeeder, Raaz sideways to a wall nearby to try and find a crate to find shelter behind. Squeezing the trigger Raaz lets off a shot at the guard that had shot at him later. Not looking to see if it hits, but having the feeling it doesn't, Raaz makes his way to the wall and finds a barrel to crouch behind. Hudson aims his carbine at another guard, quickly squeezing off another shot. The guard quickly falls to the ground unconscious as the bolt hits him square in the chest. Even the armor couldn't protect him from the precision shot of Hudson. Juking out of the way, Alrond heads toward the cover that would be provided by the speeder. His sights are still on the lead 'Imperial,' that is, Lance, and his arm raises once more so that he can get a clean shot off on the man. Unfortunately, he's hit by not one but two shots. The first hardly does anything after splashing against his armor, while the second cuts deeply into his flesh, causing him to unleash a scream as he falls to the ground. Now that the vehicle wouldn't be going anywhere, Hudson moved his rifle to the next target of oppurtunity. Again, he sights in the person and gently squeezes the trigger, sinding a stun bolt flying into his chest and knocking him over. This was too easy. As he fired, he began to hum a tune, something he'd have to go back later and write down for his quetarra. "Do do do doot." Bolts fly over Drun's head. Out of the corner of his eye he sees his superior drop. He hesitates a moment, "Sir? Oh, geez...I'm not getting paid enough for this." The guard quickly rests his blaster on the top of the speeder and takes another shot at Lance. The red of the blaster fire emphasizes the flustered anger on his face. A wave of fear rushes over his face momentarily, but he supresses it...for now. Miko continues moving sideways til he has another clear shot. Since their leader has fallen, he takes aim at another guard, Drun. He holds his weapon steady with both hands and squeezes off another shot. Red blaster bolts light up the street when he fires. Riding his recent wave of luck, Lance rises fully to his feet taking aim at the wounded Head Security Guard. He's just about to fire when an incoming blaster bolt swoops across the front of his face, causing him to instinctively duck before depressing the trigger on his E-11 Blaster Rifle. Amazingly enough, Lance misses catching the deadly bolt in the head, "Not what I planned.." sighs Lance quietly under the sound of blaster fire as he sidesteps a shot from the grounded Head Security Guard. The young man's boots were sure getting their fair use of work tonight with all this dodging. Despite the pain of the shot burning into his body, Alrund is more than willing to continue this fight. That is, until he's knocked unconscious by some means. As such, he continues to move, trying to ignore the pain, though he can't fully. Still, he manages to avoid, this time, whatever shots are fired at him, and he even pulls off another shot against the lead, though he's unsuccessful once more in taking the man down. With his blaster pistol up over the barrel, Raaz aims his weapon at one of the guards still standing in the back of the landspeeder. Squeezing the trigger he lets off a shot and sighs as he sees it impact the speeder instead of the guard. Shaking his head he dives out from behind the barrel as the same guard fires back at his barrel eating away at a good portion of it. Another guard is dropped by the blue 'Imperial,' and he slumps down onto the ground unconscious. As all the fighting goes on, the last remaining guard besides the head security guard is firing on Raaz. He also manages to dodge a blaster shot from Raaz. Lance takes a moment, JUST a moment, to observe the remaining security guards dropping like flies. In the back of his mind, the young man praises Hudson's keen marksmanship as Lance himself raises his rifle. "This has gone on far enough. The Empire has no need for scum like you." With that, the dark clad Imperial Officer raises his E-11 and snaps it to stun. In another moment, two blaster bolts fly out of the weapon and towards the injured Head Security Officer. This has gone on long enough. Miko rushes forward towards the last remiaining guard. He POints his weapon at him and in a loud comanding voice (and best british accent), "Alright you rebel scum...drop the weapon and get your hands up in the air....NOW...move it move.." Stopping in his sprint to the side Raaz turns back to face the speeder. Dropping to one knee he raises his weapon again aiming at the guard that continued to shoot at him. Squeezing the trigger yet again he lets loose another shot at the being. The landspeeder didn't offer as much cover as Drun had hoped. Or perhaps his superiors hadn't offered as much training as he had hoped. Either way, before he can fire another bolt, his eyes widen as a blaster bolt finds its mark. The security guard flies back and his body arches with the impact. With a solid crack, his body crashes to the ground...incapacitated. His blaster pistol skids a few feet away from him as his hand falls limp. Taking a knee, the lead security guard aims once more, closing an eye and drawing a bead on the lead 'Imperial.' Mere moments before he would snap off a shot, the man sees that he is also being aimed at, so he attempts to roll to the side. Unfortunately, perhaps he zigged when he should have zagged, or perhaps he just got shot. Either way, Alrund takes the blue, cascading rings of energy in the chest, falling to the ground as the energy rings screw up his nervous system and knock him unconscious. Hudson swings his rifle from the lead officer he was planning on firing on to the only remaining guard. He squeezes off two rounds, watching them sail through the air at the man Miko was standing in front of. The Meris was certainly an ace shot, and although he had never really been a sniper before, he did seem good at it. With luck, his shots would hit their mark and this would be over. "Hey!" Hudson called down, staring at Miko. "What the hell, man?" It was not often that he got angry. Well, at least not sober, and this was one of the few times he was sober. "We're not supposed to be jerks about this, we're supposed to be fighting for, like, justice!" He looked over to the lieutenant who claimed he was in charge, "I'll meet you at the ship, maybe you can learn to control your people. I'm going to the bar." And with that he hopped to the other side of the building and vanished. Miko looks up towards where Hudson was as he begins gathering pistols. He glances over at Lance, "You have any idea what he going on about?" He looks back up towards the rooftop and picks up another gun, "The jetpacks are in the rear...I think I saw some other jumpsuits we should take as well." He looks down the street in both directions, "...and let's not linger here." Glancing up at the words of the Meris in the distance, Lance just shook his head as he looked to Raaz and Miko. All the Skyraiders had proven that they were capable of getting the job done and that's what was important to the Lieutenant. Meris' anger was just something that would need to be dealt with at a later time when they weren't fearing Stormtroopers around the bend any second. "Alright. Let's get in the landspeeder men. Grab what you can off the guards, but we have to get out of here as quick as possible. We'll ditch the landspeeder once we empty the back of it." Lance hops into the landspeeder, tossing out the driver. It was time for this group to get away with their prized possessions. "We're going to look a little conspicuous carrying these things down the street" Miko slings one of the jetpacks over his shoulder and shoves several of the pistols into his open jacket front. He graps a combat jumpsuit with his free hand and begins moving on down the street, "How far is that warehouse from here Fulderon?"